1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a knitted article of headwear with an integrated hairband for maintaining and holding a portion of the wearer""s hair outside of the knitted article of headwear while securing the article of headwear to the wearer""s head. More particularly, the invention pertains to a knitted hat or the like having the fabric covered hairband integrated into the knit at the distal end or intermediate the distal and proximal end of the knitted headwear. Knitted articles constructed in accordance with the invention are of a generally conical shaped knitted configuration of a ribbed, ribless, seam or seamless configuration.
The invention includes methods for producing novel knitted articles of headwear with integrated hairbands by utilizing flat knitting machines which knit a flat garment in which the ends are subsequently joined in the knitting process to form an article of headwear and methods for integrating the hairband in a knitted seam or use of Bulkie Knitting Machines or other such circular knitting machines for knitting circular garments without a seam in which the hairband is integrated into the knitted article of headwear.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
The prior art includes a great variety and number of hats and headwear having apertures for accommodating a pony tail or hair of the wearer. Most of the prior art having apertures for accommodating hair or ponytails are made of woven fabric as opposed to knitted articles. Examples of hats or headgear having apertures for accommodating hair or ponytails include Garnier, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,494, Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and 5,239,705, Armenta, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,799 and Higgins U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,249.
These articles of woven, as opposed to knitted headwear, utilize panels in which one or more of the panels or seams connecting the panels have openings in which a ponytail or hair may be threaded. For example, Garnier, Jr., et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,494 includes overlapping panels that may be opened and closed to accommodate hair or ponytails while Armenta, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,799 includes headgear accessories that are installed by stitching or embroidering into an existing cap, hat or hood or other such article of headwear.
These prior art fabric hats, including Higgins U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,249, which includes an aperture at the terminal end of the hat do not include an elasticized hairband or an elastic fabric covered hairband that is knitted or integrated into the woven hat. Woven fabric hats have warp and weft threads that criss cross as opposed to a knitted or crocheted articles which have a plurality of inter connected loops. The invention utilizes the plurality of inter connected loops to integrate a hairband into the knitted article of headwear.
Further the prior art does not have a hairband or an elastic or elasticized fabric covered hairband covered with loops from the knitted article to integrate the hairband into the knitted article of headwear. The prior art also does not integrate the hairband into the distal end of the article of headwear so as to cooperate with the headband of the article of headwear to provide a restrictive closure to function as an integrated hairband which is part of the headwear to cooperate with the headband to maintain the article of headwear anchored firmly in place in accordance to the invention.
The prior art also includes other woven hats of the baseball type that include constricted apertures for gathering and holding the ponytail or wearer""s hair through the headwear. Representative of such prior art includes Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and Leopold 5,239,705. Such prior art pertaining to constricting apertures utilizing an elasticized opening are not integrated into the woven article with a plurality of loops around the hairband. The prior art hairbands are not the same type of fabric covered hairband and are attached by sewing the hairband into an aperture of the hat. In contrast the invention pertains to a knitted article of headwear constructed of a plurality of loops in which a fabric covered hairband is integrated into the knitted article utilizing the plurality of loops to become part of the knitted article.
Other prior art include woven hairbands such as shown in Nahoum U.S. Pat. Des. No. 353,226 in which a woven constrictive type hairband is illustrated. The woven hairband of Nahoum U.S. Pat. Des. No. 353,226 is not integrated into a knit of a knitted ski hat or article of headwear.
Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,211 illustrates an elastic loop hairband of the type utilized for ponytails of the type utilized in the novel article of headwear of the invention. The elastic loop covered with fabric of Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,211 is used to attach a hair extension and is not integrated into a knitted article of headwear and does not provide the advantages of the invention.
Other prior art such as Gregg U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,885 and Schuessler, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,365 pertain to a headgear article having a drawstring disposed at the distal end of the headgear. Gregg U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,885 does not utilize a hairband integrated into the plurality of loops of a knitted article but instead includes a drawstring that is threaded through a fold in a knit or weave to provide a closure for the head covering. Schuessler, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,365, like the present invention, pertains to a knitted article but does not utilize a hairband or integrate the hairband as part of the knitted article. Schuessler, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,365 instead pertains to a firmly attached tassel which is attached by a drawstring which is woven through the knitted strands of yarn to form a tassel. The drawstring does not form a constrictive aperture for the hair or ponytail of the wearer and as such is merely indicative of the general state of the art.
Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488 similarly pertains to an article of headgear having an elasticized aperture for receiving and providing a constrictive closure for a ponytail or the wearer""s hair. Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488, like Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and 5,239,705 is not integrated into a knitted article and like Leopold is disposed in the headband portion of the hat. Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488, like Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and 5,239,705 do not mechanically anchor the hat to the head since the constrictive opening is co-located in the headband portion of the hat rather than displaced from the headband in a coplanar or angular location to cooperate with the headband to anchor the article of headwear to the head. Further Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509, 5,239,705 and Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488 pertain to woven fabric hats as opposed to knitted headgear and as such do not integrate the elasticized hairband into a plurality of loops to integrate the hairband into a portion of the knit of the knitted article.
The invention unlike the prior art pertains to a knitted article having a hairband integrated into the knit of the knitted article of headwear. The novel headwear of the invention is of a substantially conical shape having a headband portion which forms the widest portion of the headwear and tapers to a distal end of the headwear in which the hairband is integrated into the knitted article itself. The distal portion of the knitted article remote from the proximal headband area of the headwear serves to not only accommodate the hair of the wearer but also to maintain and firmly anchor the position of the article of headwear on the head and around the ears of the wearer.
As will be recognized by those wearing ski hats and having long hair the greater the volume of hair under the ski hat the more likely the hair will cause the ski hat to ride up away from and over the ears of the wearer causing the wearer to pull the headband down and ski hat over the hair to crush the volume of hair under the ski hat. The pulling of the headband and ski hat over the head exacerbates two related problems. The first problem is the headband becomes stretched and allows the ski hat to ride up more quickly as the skier negotiates the ski slopes. The second related problem is that it crushes the hair and makes the hair more difficult to manage after skiing.
Both of these problems inherent in prior art ski hats are solved by the novel knitted article of headwear of the invention which integrates a hairband into the knitted article of headwear of the invention. The novel knitted headwear of the invention utilizes a standard ponytail or elasticized fabric covered elastic band that is integrated into the plurality of loops of the novel knitted articles of the invention that serves to not only hold the hair in place outside of the ski cap but also at the same time maintains the distal end of the headwear at a substantially fixed position with respect to the hair and scalp of the wearer.
Maintenance of the ski hat or knitted headwear articles in their intended position operates to ameliorate the problem of the wearer pulling the cap down over the ears and thus repeatedly stretching the headband portion and destroying the elasticity of the headband. The maintenance of the hair in the hairband in relation to the headband in relation to the head and scalp allows complete freedom of movement without jeopardizing the position of the novel knitted articles of the invention. This is particularly advantageous for the ski hats and active headwear since the anchoring of the hat on the head eliminates the constant readjustment of the position of the ski cap with respect to the head of the wearer and the stretching of the headband portion of the ski hat.
The invention provides a knitted article of headwear of the type generally used for skiing or jogging or as well as for fashion which includes an integrated hairband for fastening a portion of the wearer""s hair or ponytail outside of the knitted article. The hairband is integrated into the knitted article of headwear and cooperates with the headband of the article of headwear by maintaining the knitted article of headwear in a stable position on the head of the wearer.
The novel knitted article of headwear and more particularly a skier""s type hat is knitted in a tapered or somewhat conical configuration having at the proximal end a headband portion providing a standard stretch knit fit for engaging the wearer""s head, ears and back of the neck. The proximal end tapers toward the distal end which at or near the distal end includes an integrated hairband which is integrated into the knit of the knitted article. The hairband provides a constricted aperture for the novel headwear and allows the hair or ponytail of the wearer to be drawn through the hairband which is integrated into the headwear so as to maintain the headwear in a desired position with respect to the hair and scalp of the wearer.
The novel article of headwear with the integrated hairband may include a standard hairband which is drawn through the looped knitted distal end of the article of headwear and then joined by tying, clamping or otherwise fixing of the ends of the hairband at or near the distal end of the knitted article. Alternatively, the hairband may be integrated into the loops of the knitted article by threading the hairband through the ends of the knit at or near the distal end of the tapered knitted article to provide a constricted aperture for engaging the hair of the wearer in the novel skier""s hat.
The novel article of headwear may also include one or more seams running from the proximal end of the headwear to the distal end of the headwear which may include at least one hairband integrated into the loops of the knit in the seam that joins the knitted article to form the article of headwear of the invention.
Novel headwear of the invention may be constructed by utilizing a standard hairband used for ponytails which is cut or threaded through loops in the novel knitted headwear in the invention. The hairband may also be integrated into the novel knitted article by knitting the hairband into the knitted article at the proximal end of the knitted article or in a seam joining together the knitted article to form an article of headwear. The hairband may be a standard hairband purchased from a variety of sources or from a long strand of an elasticized hairband material having an elastic rubber band covered with fabric that is integrated into the novel knitted articles of the invention. In either case the hairband is a rubber band or elastomeric material that is covered with fabric that is integrated by a plurality of loops into the knitted article either at or near the distal end of the knitted article or in a seam utilized to join the ends of the knitted article to form an article of headwear.
The precise manner of incorporating the hairband into the knitted article depends upon the method utilized for manufacturing the novel knitted article of the invention. In one manufacturing process for creating knitted articles a Bulkie Machine is utilized for knitting circular articles such as ski caps. In such machines capable of knitting circular articles the hairband is preferably knitted into the distal end of the knitted article by interconnecting the loops at the end of the knitted article and fastening the hairband to join all the loops to integrate the hairband into the knitted article and form a constrictive opening for the hair or ponytail of the wearer. In other processes for forming the novel knitted articles of the invention the knitted article of headwear can be knitted on a flatbed machine to provide a flat and preferably tapering knitted article in which the ends are knitted or joined together in the form of a seam running from the headband portion of the knitted article to the distal end of the knitted article into which seam a hairband is integrated with a plurality of loops intermediate the proximal and distal end of the novel article of headwear.
The novel knitted articles of the invention with the integrated hairband provide a cooperative interrelationship between the hairband and the headband of the headwear which combines the holding aspects of the hairband with the positioning of the headband to allow unrestricted movement of the wearer while maintaining the article of headwear in a predetermined desired position with respect to the hair and scalp of the wearer. The novel article of headwear allows a portion of the hair to extend through the constrictive opening provided by the hairband which maintains the headwear in a predetermined desired position irrespective of the motions or actions of the wearer such as may be engaged on the ski slope. Further the novel article of headwear prevents the hair from being crushed, disheveled or disorganized under the cap and allows a significant portion of the hair to be held in position outside of the novel article of headwear while maintaining the article of headwear in the predetermined desired position during exercise movement as may be encountered in jogging, skiing or other outdoor activities.
The cooperative advantages of the headband and the hairband of novel knitted articles of the invention are best achieved when the hairband and headband are in a substantially coplanar or co-axial configuration. In this configuration the hairband and headband are in direct alignment and provide the best cooperation between the headband and hairband in holding the article of headwear in place on the wearer""s head. These novel articles of headwear are maintained in place in active sports such as skiing and jogging to anchor the article of headwear in place. Where the maximum holding efficiency of holding the hat in place is not desired such as for fashion the integrated hairband may be angularly offset to the headband intermediate the proximal and distal ends of the novel knitted article with the integrated hairband.